Editor in Chief: Dr. Hussain Yasa
Tuesday, March 31st, 2015

Call for Supporting Badakhshan Landslide Victims

May 04, 2014

As if the Taliban’s insurgency was not enough for sucking the blood of the Afghan people, this time the nature has opened its mouth to swallow them. After deadly floods in Jawzjan, Sar-e-Pul, Faryab and Badghis and a coal mine explosion in Samangan that killed hundreds of people, the nature showed its anger on the people of Badakhshan province this time. The death toll of recent landside in the province has crossed the limit of 2,500 while hundreds are still missing. At this moment the only thing that can be done is giving a hand to the affected families and giving them a feeling that they are not alone at this time of grief.

What is painful is recklessness of the Afghan government. In such circumstances, the government must do its optimal to use resources on hand and seek support from other countries in order to enhance the rescue and relief operations in the landslide-hit areas. Nevertheless, it seems as if handling the issues pertaining to the presidential election have turned out to be more important to the government than helping out our countrymen in Badakhshan.

In other countries of the world the governments have specific and effective plans for managing the natural disasters and minimizing the destruction caused by them. However, Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Agency (ANDMA) has been acting ineffectively in helping the people during the natural disaster and providing them with adequate relief and support after the disaster. Needless to mention that the international community has been providing aids to the Afghan government for its preparedness for nature disasters. However, it seems that the major portion of those aids have only filled the pocket of corrupt and crooked Afghan officials.

Expectation from the Afghan government to take immediate and effective measures to provide adequate support the victims of Badakhshan landslide is quite low. Therefore, the international community using its military and civil presence in Afghanistan must come forward and cooperate with the Afghan authorities in rescue and relief operations. President Hamid Karzai must establish a relief fund for the victims of recent flood and landslide victims. The government and the media must encourage the public to establish relief camps so that the affected families can be supported as much as possible. Meanwhile, Afghans working in various government and non-government organizations must set aside a portion of their salaries for helping their countrymen in this time of trouble. This is the responsibility of all be it common people, businessmen, politicians or government authorities.